UNICEF: Health Education Key To Eradicating Female Genital Mutilation

By Abimbola Kintum
On February 6, as the world marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNESCO) emphasized the continued importance of educating girls and women on the adverse effects of FGM.
According to the World Health Organisation, FGM comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The practice has no health benefits for girls and women and causes severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
The practice of FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is nearly always carried out by traditional practitioners on minors and is a violation of the rights of children.
Some Information: More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15. FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Treatment of the health complications of FGM is estimated to cost health systems US$ 1.4 billion per year, a number expected to rise unless urgent action is taken towards its abandonment.
In a UNICEF report, titled, ‘Ending Female Genital Mutilation: Data that delivers change and results for girls and women,’ UNICEF said approximately 35 per cent of girls aged zero to 14 in the Southeast are affected by FGM, closely followed by the Southwest region with 30 per cent of girls affected.
It added that it was worrisome to note that Ekiti State accounted for nearly 24 per cent of girls affected by FGM, while Oyo State had 21 per cent.